From Here
by JVC
Summary: Continuation of Hellstorm. Please read and review, and if not, enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

From Here

A/N: I don't own Charmed. I guess this means I'm back; I wouldn't expect the updates to come as quickly (this is a continuation and as such I don't feel as immediately, ravenously, passionate about this). But, they will come.

The Return

With the dawn came the understanding of a realization that had occurred to him the night before. Cole Turner stood on the ruined balcony of his condo, staring out at the golden light coming from the horizon as it stretched out over everything. He had a mountain to climb; the summit was out of sight and where he had come up from seemed so far away. There was little to do but smile, he thought. He had a ways to go, but at least he was headed in the right direction. In a good direction. He turned away from the balcony to stare at the few boxes stacked in the middle of the floor between his couch and the elevator doors. The place still looked full, and habitable. That fact only reflected, really, how little of the place he wanted to take with him, how little of it was actually his.

Cole had intended for last night to have been his last night there. He was going to make a symbolic break from every aspect of what he was, where he was during what had seemed to be the bitter, crazed end of he and Phoebe. He took several steps towards the boxes and his face cracked into a yawn, and his eyes burned momentarily. Cole was unused to fatigue, and the small aches that came with being, mostly, completely normal and mortal. He had changed. Everything had changed. Somewhere in the condo his cell phone began ringing. He searched through two more rings, trying to figure out where he'd left it, before discovering it in his bedroom.

"Hello?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes. There was only one person who could be calling so early, and he was of course right. Cole knew Phoebe just like Phoebe almost immediately picked up on the tiredness in his voice. He sat down on the bed he hadn't slept in and assured her that he was fine, making a point not to lie about his being awake all night, thinking, making decisions. "I'm going to see about getting a new place," he said, explaining why most of his deliberations were during his packing up his few, prized possessions. "I just want to start over, I guess," he said finally. Phoebe quieted, supporting him. Miles away, each was buoyed by the other as if they were touching, and they both knew there would be no forgetting, however the healing was vital. Each had been hurt, and hurt the other in the penthouse; it was time. Cole assured her that he was going to come over later after he had finished up some other things. He silently accepted that she was worried about him and always felt better when she could at least be concerned at close range. Cole had been alive for over a century, a warrior, an assassin, even a tyrant, but he still had to accept that being vulnerable was okay, so long as it was around the right person. He frowned after hanging up the phone; he had definitely changed.

Across town, hanging up her own phone, Phoebe stared off into nothing, still under the covers of her bed. She understood what Cole needed, and why he needed it. Part of her wanted to welcome him into the manor, and when he refused take him by the scruff of his collar and demand he live with her in the manor. With that, too, came the desire to board the door to her room shut, to bar every fight and every decision and every rainy night from their perfect and bright future together. But she knew it was going to take time, the exact kind of time anything or anyone would need to break them apart again. Phoebe knew. After all, she had only gotten a few hours of sleep herself. The previous week had involved a great deal of silence from the demonic world, Leo's shrugs translating as the Elders' ignorance as to what was going on, too. There was little to be done but be ready, be vigilant, and in those times in between be worried and afraid of what could possibly go wrong next. What bothered Phoebe the most was that during this time of relative peace and quiet, that the right course of action was to go to sleep alone in her bed that only got emptier and emptier.

But it wouldn't last, and Phoebe knew it. The peace would dissolve into conflict; the distance required by healing would shrink. It made her happy and sad. She threw the comforter off of her, resolute to begin her day. The woman who greeted her in the mirror of her bathroom had wisdom in her eyes, her family at her side, and another person in the world whom she loved, that loved her. Phoebe Halliwell smiled a genuine smile. She was not living the good life, but a good life.

The chamber had been the sight of a furious conflict featuring powerful and lethal magics. The struggle between good and evil had been impacted in the place. It was a huge pentagram with 5 columns near the center, forming a small pentagram. One of the columns was ruined, and the floor had pits and imperfections now, cracks, along with the walls and ceiling. For him, that made the place that much more perfect as the throne room.

It had been too long, he mused silently, since he had been witness to the execution of his will by an endless legion of vassals, nothing before him but a promise. Beside him was a Seer. Or maybe the Seer. He wasn't completely sure about how it all worked, but she had been the first he had seen in centuries, and she had come bearing gifts on that very first day. From then, the wonders had yet to cease. Accept this boon, this right, she had said, and lead the forces of evil out of its muddled rut and into the next age. She liked to talk, this Seer, to inform, and direct. Her hands were remarkably clean and blameless; that was her way, her type. The arrangement was satisfactory, of course, because for all his power and all his machinations, he had never been one to avoid conflict or flee from involving himself personally. Sometimes leadership requires as such.

The engineering feat before the two of them was poetic, demons of varying race coming together, constructing a new throne for this new leader out of the very door that had kept him imprisoned and dormant for far too long. He had specific plans on adorning it, once it was finished, with the skulls and skins of those responsible for his imprisonment, and if they could not be located, then their living kin. His mind drifted to the scenario of their running, screaming, supplicating in a search for mercy, and finding none. There was a touch at his side, gentle but invasive.

"My apologies," the small demoness apologized mildly. "I was simply trying to ensure that you were paying attention," she finished, looking up at him. She could see so very much, that much she had proved; he wondered what she saw when she looked up into his face, what she had seen when the doors had been thrown open and he had emerged.

"But of course," he replied, bringing the athame to his face for closer inspection. It was average craftsmanship, by his estimation, and the magics involved in its enchantment were moderate at best, but he supposed that was what passed for power in this age. Still. "I wonder,"

"You wonder, what," The Seer probed.

"A demon," he began, looking up at his throne for a moment "of this era was enterprising enough to amass such power,"

"Former demon, actually," He raised an eyebrow at that. "Belathazor had been an acolyte of great repute, a half breed, but fell under the sickness of human love on assignment. He clawed his way back to her from the wastes even after she had vanquished him,"

"Truly a resourceful individual,"

"He was motivated by power even the Source could not totally overcome," He growled a single, bellowing note.

"That is not saying much, however I understand your point," he let his arm drop to his side as the workers, finished finally, stepped away from the throne, gesturing at their prize for his inspection. He strode forward, spinning confidently into the dark seat. "I have decided," he looked up to the Seer, who was making her way across the room much more slowly.

"Oh, sire?" she curtseyed shallowly.

"Yes. I do believe I'd like to meet this Belthazor," he reclined gently to sheath the athame at his waist. "There is after all, so much I have to thank him for. But first," he slid his hands lovingly forward to grasp the ends of the throne's arm rests, then let face grin impossibly wide. The Seer returned the expression, glibly, sliding to the right of the massive throne. All else within the area either cowered, or stood in awe, as all the lights in the place dimmed almost to darkness and then swelled in light to an almost blinding radiance.

From that point to every corner of the Underworld every creature from lowly wretch to noble demon shuddered awake and aware that among the dark murk there was something greater, older and more terrifying than each of them, perhaps all of them, the shadows whispered his name and the darkness screamed of his return. Soon, they said. Soon there would be blood.


	2. Chapter 2

Questions

Paige shifted her car from drive to park slowly, watching as the small yellow indicator shifted in front of each letter. There was something off about the entire situation. Actually it wasn't just some thing; there were many things. First, on her lunch break she had decided to check in on Cole, which wasn't as strange as she would've preferred. In the past there had been times when she had gone out of her way to talk to him, or rely on him. And at every other opportunity she had hated him, and it had all been for Phoebe, which is why she and Cole had seen eye to eye, or hadn't. Secondly, there was the 'out of the kindness of her heart' sentiment that drove her just across downtown to the penthouse. As a social worker her lunch break was short and rare already. And yet… probably the strangest thing was that unlike every other time when she came calling, this didn't feel like it was going behind her sisters' backs. It felt normal. She was stopping by to see if her brother in law needed any help with his move. Paige pressed the up button on the elevator, frowning. Was Cole still her brother in law? She shrugged off the question. The way things seemed, if he wasn't, then he would be soon… again.

Paige felt the elevator climb to the top floor, nervousness rising up into her throat. Part of her felt immediately awkward, like she had stepped over some threshold, out of place, out of step. She grinned at her blurry reflection in the elevator doors. No, Paige thought to herself, that would come after the doors opened.

As if on cue, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened quietly. Beyond, Paige could see the condo, familiar somewhat, filled with memories definitely. However, it didn't look like Cole was moving out; it looked more like he was moving in. Some tables were empty, their surfaces wiped clean, but the tables were still there. The furniture, as far as she could tell, the rugs, the curtains, were still in place. There was a handful of medium sized boxes crowded together in the foyer and that was it. That was what Cole seemed content to leave the place with. A moment of sadness swept over Paige as she slowly exited the elevator, and it must have shown on her face, because as Cole stepped into view from the bedroom a mirrored expression overtook the smile he had initially.

"Paige?" he asked, stepping forward.

"Hey, Cole," She replied, then remembered why she was there. "Oh,"

"Is something wrong?" he interrupted. She shook her head.

"No, no I was on my lunch break and I work around the corner. I just thought," she paused for a moment. "I'm trying to welcoming," she said, hoping that made as much sense out loud as it did in her head.

"Oh," Cole said, looking around "Right. Good," Paige could see it hadn't made as much sense, but Cole seemed content to be confused and not worried. Paige furrowed her brow.

"I'm just trying to do my part. You know, we all are working to put things back on track," Cole's eye contract told her he understood that a little better. Still, she thought it best to change the subject. "So, this all you're taking?" she gestured at the boxes. Cole nodded.

"I looked through the entire place, last night and again today and this was all that I could scrap together that I actually wanted to keep," he folded his arms over his chest and stared down at what amounted to this part of his life somberly.

"You want to help me move it to my car," Paige began, slowing as she came across another awkward topic. Amazing how many of those there were. Cole looked down at Paige, grinning and shaking his head.

"I'm not moving into the manor," he said. "I mean, I'm getting a place, more low key, more in my mortal price bracket. For now," he added so it sounded less final. Paige nodded.

"Oh. Ok, well, Phoebe hadn't told us what she had decided, or, what you two had decided. Is Phoebe, I mean is Phoebe helping, and when, where are you going?" Cole shrugged, turning away from her.

"I can move things along with the lease with little difficulty. This weekend, probably. Leo and Piper offered to help; they're going to let me have some of their old furniture,"

"I can understand why you'd want to move quickly," Paige said. She really couldn't, she realized. It was one of those things you just said, not because you understood, but because the other person seemed to need it. Paige opened her mouth to speak, looking up and paused when two figures shimmered into view. Each was mountainous, with rippling muscles and dark, tattooed features. They grinned mouths filled with sharp teeth. Cole stepped in front of the nearest one and Paige, directly into a backhand that sent him flying into her, and they both slammed against the elevator doors with a thud.

"Witch," the attacker said to his accomplice. There was a question in his voice that Paige heard, though it was less loud than the fire of her bruised body.

"Kill her," she heard the other one say. "Belthazor is to be brought alive," Paige tried to budge Cole. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, he was conscious and rose, his posture threatening.

"Alive," the one that had struck him before said "I can do alive," he grinned. As he gestured, flexing one of his huge arms, Paige heard, and felt, Cole inhale as he drew the demon's power into himself and with it, an energy ball forming in his hand. Before the demon could reply, Cole had thrown the offending magic at the demon, who exploded in raging flame. The other stiffened visibly, but then summoned his own energy ball. From the floor, Paige called out, orbing it to herself. At the same time Cole summoned another energy ball, smirking wickedly. The demon shimmered out almost instantly, the two deadly spheres streaking through the place where he once stood.

"You know," Paige said, letting Cole help her up. "I was just thinking how maybe it was a bit sudden for you to be leaving this place behind, that maybe I didn't understand, ow," she rotated her shoulder. "Not anymore," she looked into Cole's face at the lack of chuckle or laugh. She watched him visibly relax and the edges of her perception tingled as she felt the malevolent energies melt from his body. "Uh,"

"It looks like they've started back up," Cole said suddenly, looking down at the spot where the first one had been standing.

"Yeah, and they,"

"You should probably tell your sisters," Cole interrupted her, moving over and scooping up two of the boxes, then walking over to the elevator and pushing the button.

"Cole," Paige said.

"Paige, I know," he replied, not turning to face her. "The faster I'm out of this place, the better. Tell your sisters. Once I get these in my car I'll go to the manor," He stepped through the doors once they opened, turning finally. Paige felt indecisiveness take her.

"This is weird. Why would they want you, Cole?" old conclusions crowded the back of her mind.

"Soon as I find out, I'll let you know," he said, and the elevator doors closed, separating the two of them. Paige couldn't see, but knew Cole was sinking, descending, out of sight. She considered orbing to the manor directly, but Cole would be back up, and he even if he wasn't defenseless, it still didn't feel safe. Paige pulled out her cell phone and began dialing.

Phoebe reflected on how everything had been fine that morning, and then suddenly, inexplicably, they weren't. The premonition had bent her double at the foot of the stairs; at first she had thought that since it had been so long since she'd had one it was just the shock, but she had had to accept that it was also particularly powerful. A portent. Piper had been near and had opened her mouth to ask about what Phoebe had seen, but Wyatt had begun crying, loudly in such a way that he had never done before. Phoebe had been worried, but she wasn't sure she could have, would have, told Piper about what she had seen. Phoebe hadn't wanted to accept the images herself, but she had grown stolid to prevent them from happening.

She was seated at the kitchen table across from Piper drinking tea for comfort and to pass the time. Leo had been summoned by the Elders not long after Wyatt had begun crying. So much had happened in such a short time; the Charmed ones had long left off believing in coincidence. Eventually Wyatt had quieted, so there had been little but tea stirring and silence. Instead of the tinkling of orbing, though, what shook them from their reverie was the house phone ringing. Piper rose from her seat, being closest. Phoebe watched her go, hoping suddenly that it was Cole.

"Paige," Piper said, after speaking a greeting into the receiver. "what were you doing at Cole's?" Phoebe watched her sister turn to look down at her at the table, then her face went from confused to concerned. Phoebe was standing near Piper and the phone before she realized she had moved. "Are you ok? Is Cole ok? Right, good," Piper looked Phoebe in the face and whispered that Cole was on his way to the manor. "Yeah, Paige? Ok, well did they say anything else? I'm sure of it, too, things have been happening here. Well, we're not completely sure, Leo went, yeah," Phoebe breathed, putting her hands on her hips to open her lungs further, as she began pacing. "Ok, I'll see you soon," she heard her sister hang the phone up.

"Paige coming home early?" Phoebe asked, not looking at her sister.

"Yeah," Piper said only; she was thinking just like Phoebe was thinking. "There was an attack. Demons. Paige said they mentioned wanting Cole for something, alive," her voice was empty. Phoebe wasn't ready to admit it, but she had some inkling as to why.

The air glowed briefly as Leo orbed into the kitchen, looking agitated.

"Leo," Piper said. Phoebe watched him look from one sister to the other.

"It's happened," he said, listening for a moment for Wyatt. "A new evil has risen, and the vast majority of the underworld is behind this new force, whatever it is,"

"Cole and Paige were attacked. The demons said they wanted Cole for something," Phoebe looked at the white lighter, hoping something he had learned would help her prevent her vision from happening. Leo frowned, taking all the information in.

"Attacked?" he looked around as if either or both parties were around

"They're fine," Piper answered.

"Do you know why this new Source," Phoebe paused, "or whatever it is, do you know why it would want Cole?" Leo shook his head.

"I could only guess it has something to do with the athame, but it could be something else. The elders are worried, there have been portents all over the world; they want us to be on our guard,"

"Did they say anything else, something, I don't know, helpful?" Piper was reacting with aggression while Phoebe could feel herself receding into numbness. She shook herself visibly.

"Just that whatever it is was thought to be lost, it's old, ancient, and powerful,"

"And it has all of Cole's power," Phoebe added, then immediately wished she hadn't. The following moment of silence stretched and stretched. Leo stretched his arms out to touch each of them.

"We'll get through this," he said. "We knew it would be coming. So, now that it's hear, we fight it," he sounded questionably confidant. Phoebe knew he was right. Still, a large part of her wished it had waited just a little bit longer. Like forever longer.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for everyone reading thus far, I just realized just now that all the page breaks and extra spaces I was inputting don't take on 's database. I will use markers in the future.

Pieces

From this throne, deep in the underworld, his underworld, he heard the terse report. Had he been fully paying attention he may have been annoyed with its awkward delivery and shocking brevity. The demon was all that was left of a small preliminary force he'd sent at the Seer's suggestion. He'd wanted to go himself, but apparently that wasn't how things worked in this new age. There were channels; there was bureaucracy.

"We weren't prepared for Belthazor to have powers, certainly not these new ones," the worthless vassal was saying. He raised a hand, an order that frightened the young demon into stiffening into silence. Before he began speaking he took a moment to locate the Seer in the room and stare at her gravely as if to prove his point.

"Clearly, you were no match for him," he began, basking briefly in the glow of the terror of those present, before continuing "but I suppose something has been gained from finding that out for sure," as the days had gone on since him placing his unquestioned stake, his throne room had acquired a great many hangers on. Demons and other dark creatures that seemed to think being near him earned them some sort of greater status. He sneered. In his day, such things could only be conferred by victory. He was positive he enjoyed this world more than his dark prison, but he wasn't sure yet by how much. The Seer stepped forward, unsurprisingly, no doubt with another scheme. He let his eyes narrow.

"If I may suggest, Master,"

"Yes, because your last suggestion was so fruitful," the jab felt good, but her face remained unchanged. It was out of place, immature, to engage in verbal sparring with an inferior. He should either flay her or not, but a small piece of him had to accept she was still useful if only because she seemed to have pre-ordained all of this thus far. Strategy aside, gifts like hers would be useful, and could be forgiven the occasional hiccup. She stared up at him, balancing the rebut evenly. "What is it," he rumbled, robbed of his moment.

"I was going to suggest a multi-faceted strategy. Your fixation, Belthazor, will incur the wrath of the Charmed Ones, and their vast resources. Your predecessors failed to target them directly, and separating them proved difficult as well, but almost certainly their strength lies in their ties to one another, and their friends. Your humble servant simply wanted you to keep that in mind," She dropped her gaze and curtseyed slightly. He looked down at her, and without seeing her eyes he could sense the gears turning. He had figured her out days ago; she was a manipulator. It was her intent to work him in such a way to achieve something that would be ultimately be influential for her. Still, it begged the question that if the weapon she had given him was so powerful, then why free him, why not use it herself. He sighed, as if resigning himself, again, to her counsel. It was dangerous, a person with so much foresight and obviously shifty allegiances, being near him. In the end, though, fear and indecision were never his strong points. Demons of legend weren't much for indecision, and certainly not fear. He surged to his feet slowly, everyone in the assembly taking a step backwards.

"I think it's time I introduce myself to this new age, and this new age to my own old one. We earned the enmity and fear of those below us because we drove our enemies before us; no quarter, no peace. I think you've all forgotten that," he strode forward, catching the Seer's eyes as he moved past her. "It's time I remind you of who I am, and where I sit," he brought a hand up, quick like a snake, to snatch at the throat of the wide-eyed demon, the rest of his report forgotten in a painful spasm. Red electricity crackled about his head, out of his eyes and mouth. "Now, where was this place you saw Belthazor?" he asked. The demon choked, attempting in vain, to pry his hand open. Slowly, he pushed his way through the immediate, frantic thoughts of the lesser demon, and into his memory. He threw things away, took what he wanted, tramped around as he pleased until he had what he sought and then released his grip, letting the lesser demon crumple to the floor, smoke billowing from his ears and eyes. He pondered for a moment, playing the memories in his own mind. "In the past, a gesture such as this would prompt any and all of my competitors to clamber for my empty seat. I welcome all pretenders; after I destroy the enemies above it will make it easier to seek out the disloyal down here," and with that he stepped elsewhere, leaving a vile pocket of air in his place for a moment.

Eyes glanced from one another, and then at the now vacant throne. Everyone present had to admit that things had changed. Even those demons powerful enough to have survived the earlier ravishing a the hands of Belthazor were afraid. Empty, the throne seemed safe. Worried looks all around, the Seer wore a very slight, but definite smile.

Cole Turner had long been accustomed to act for others, or at least, he had long been accustomed to act for one other. In fact, most recently he had put her wants far above his own; nothing motivated him except for getting her back, and failing that, keeping her safe. Now, as he pulled to a stop in front of Halliwell manor, he had a new range of strangeness to adjust to. He knew he should be elsewhere, specifically working the miracle of getting himself moved even earlier than his insistences had earned him. It would take a lot of effort to get his new building to move up the move in date; and with all of his belongings with him it certainly looked like he was set to move in with Phoebe at the manor, which wasn't what either of them needed. Still, he knew that she would need to see him. He knew that he needed to see her. So similar were the two sentiments that they were almost the same, like what she wanted was what he wanted. The lines were beginning to blur.

He thought for a minute, letting the palms of his hands rub against the leather of his steering wheel, just trying to divine out the sense of his actions. There were so many emotions, jumbled together because so much space was being taken up by simply wanting her, and wanting her to be happy. Ultimately he decided to get out of his car, if only for air. As if to solidify his earlier thinking into one concrete fact, he watched Phoebe exit the manor and lock eyes with him. There was a moment of terror, of what she might think, him outside with his whole life in his car, but then she sprinted down to him without hesitation and into his arms. With that, all the jumbled emotions dissolved away and there was just the overwhelming correctness at his holding her, and her holding him.

"I was worried," He shushed her, breathed in the smell of her hair. "Paige said," he shushed her again, and he felt her dig her face into his chest.

"I want to admit," he began after a long moment. "that I was worried, am worried, but us holding each other makes everything seem good, and nothing bad," he heard a muffled affirmation from her, and he allowed some space between them. She started to say something, but stopped when she looked up into his eyes. As always, Cole wondered what it was she saw when she looked at him.

"Leo has news. We've got potions, and we have a reconnaissance plan, fact-finding. We're going to fight this thing, and we're going to be ready," he put his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her forehead. Her strength was incredible; he was worried about not going insane and messing up the best thing that ever happened to him. She was focused on saving the world from ultimate evil, again. He smiled, laughing at himself.

"I figured as much. I, uh, just stopped by because I thought I'd check in. I'm on my way,"

"You're staying tonight," she interrupted, allowing no argument. He opened his mouth but she pressed a delicate finger across his lips, and he simply nodded. She took his hand in hers and lead him inside.

She hadn't been joking about their preparedness. It seemed like they had been making potions almost non-stop for a month. Blues and purples and reds and yellows, greens and pinks, there was a potion for each color and then some. Leo's information from the elders suggested the demon was young enough to have been imprisoned by his contemporaries, during the beginning of evil's infighting, but old enough for his prison to have been forgotten, or lost. The book of shadows had been exhausted; the demon's window of influence on the world before its prison term predated the book. Cole was almost glad he no longer had the power to shimmer; he would've felt obligated to go seek information in the underworld, and he didn't want to have that conversation. Additionally, he didn't want to go. Cole was determined to do right by Phoebe, whatever it took, to earn her trust, her love, and to be with her, he would do. He didn't have a lot of experience with understanding what those were, but he was up for the challenge.

"This is for you," Piper pushed a pen and pad at him at one point as the planning went deeper into the night. He frowned at the blank space, and looked at her.

"We need you to right down as many of the powers you had that you knew about that you can remember, and if you think it matters, what kind of demon you got them from," she frowned, thinking, but even her concentration seemed too much to interrupt. "no, write those down too, if you can remember," she turned a few pages in the pad. "please tell me you won't need more paper than this," she said, staring at him seriously. He shook his head slowly. She nodded, confidently, and went on to something else. Paige was bundling potions, a technique he gathered that had originated with their escape from the special magical barrier they were trapped in back when… he gripped the pen, pushing the memory from his mind and began writing.

"Focused, aren't they?" Leo said, looking over at his shoulder at his growing list. Cole took a moment to stare at Phoebe, who was talking logistics with Piper. He nodded. "When they set their sights on something, they can work miracles," the comment made him look up at Leo.

"You think we'll need a miracle?" he asked. Leo shook his head.

"No, no I'm just saying," he fidgeted. Cole decided not to push, looking around the room, figuring that whatever was bothering Leo should be fairly obvious to anyone paying attention. They had potions, spells, wards. They were vigilant; they were poised. Cole frowned, thinking back on the information they'd been provided. One of the demons had gotten away, so whoever it was knew that the Charmed Ones were aware. Knew that they'd be ready. Knew that the next time it wasn't going to be easy.

"Why hasn't anything else happened," Cole said, pondering, looking down at the list of powers this new force had, that he had once wielded. Things were beginning to take shape, and they were adding up to he and everyone he loved being on the losing side. He just didn't know how.

The witch raised her hands to evoke another protection spell but her wounds made her sluggish and the demon's hand landed on her forehead, and just before death, she could feel his magic smothering every bit of her with lightning and fire. He spared her a long death, snapping her neck with a flick of his wrist. It was unnecessary to read her memories; he knew where the item was. Oddly enough, every member of the coven was aware of the location, which seemed extremely liberal, but then again it was a new world. He stepped over her body, towards the stairs of the expansive mansion.

Once he had come up into the light, there was little else to do but gain his bearings before he could smell the specific auras: intensely good magic, passive and stagnant, laid over palpable evil magic, aggressive and hungry. Even in his youth many of the stories surrounded great artifacts forged for the soul purpose of cleaving open the barriers between worlds. Generally the craftsmanship was such that they could never be completely destroyed, only shrouded and protected. Entire orders were born out of the desire to keep such things from the light of day; and it was just like humanity to transform those sacred artifacts into legends, myths, stories of warning.

He walked into the bedroom of what must have been the family matriarch, scanning the room for only a moment before discovering the item at the end of a dusty staff in the closet. Holding it brought him no pleasure, however. So much had been lost; these witches, just like the last, had used their shard of the artifact as their family crest. Likely someone had lost or misinterpreted the text that dealt with the item's best handling and keeping, and it was thought to be a trinket, or a family heirloom, the good magics locking the evil, proof of that. Tragic, he thought; not only had evil become a shadow of its former self, so had good. He lusted for the old ways, the old times. This was the perfect ploy to lure the Charmed Ones to their doom, but maybe this world did need slaying. A scream brought him out of his revelry. He could smell the scent of magic, and grief, and then it was gone. He thought for a moment, then disregarded chasing the woman down. Little could be done to stop him now, and even then, he wanted them to seek him out, away from their home, away from their books. A real battle was to be conducted on neutral ground. He reached into his robe and fished out a matching piece of beautiful metalwork to the one already at hand. They were both curved and twisted impossibly, with fine rune work along the sides. He snapped them together, carefully, and watched as some of the good magics fell away from the mighty artifact.

"Now," he said to the small object. "Lead me to your last sibling, and maybe we will both be whole."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for everyone waiting for these sluggish updates. I've been sort of distracted lately. Deciding what to do with my life, trying to find a job, etc. It's rugged out there. Sometimes I wish I could cast spells…

Interruptions

Piper clutched at her back as she stood fully upright. How old was that couch? Seeing Leo's expression she waved him off.

"Wasn't lifting with my legs," she said simply, looking around. It was past midnight. As cost effective as it likely was to keep the manor in what she was beginning to affectionately call 'battle mode' it just wasn't conducive to everyday life. Overturned chairs and tables, everything scooted to the walls, there was no telling, too, what guests would say. No, she thought, it was time to surrender to the idea that the bad guy was not stupid enough to come waltzing through the front door, or some shimmered portal. For the night, the Charmed Ones were giving up. She looked across the living room, which was beginning to look like its old self, at Phoebe and Cole, empathizing. Both of them taking any excuse to touch one another, and then letting the contact linger, leaning into it. They were afraid, and sadly the eldest Halliwell agreed that they had reason to be. It was one thing for a powerful demon to be unstoppable, but predictable, and another for he, she, it to be additionally inscrutable.

"What do you think," Leo asked her, rubbing her back. It made her think of their warm bed upstairs, which made her think of how tired it was. Things were still missing, askew, but suddenly they seemed perfect.

"I think it's time for bed," she stifled a yawn.

"Fight evil tomorrow," Paige chipped in. Her expression seemed optimistic but her eyes were worried.

"After a good night's rest we'll all feel better," Phoebe said. Piper knew half of it was for her little sister's benefit, but half of it was also for her ex-husband husband. Piper frowned; what were they? As she thought it, she realized she had been drug in along with everyone else into the awkward moment. Cole had been attacked at his place earlier yesterday, and no one ever got any real rest on that ancient couch…

"I've got to use the bathroom," Cole offered, unhelpfully, kissing Phoebe on the forehead. His hand at her side, he stayed for an extra moment, and Phoebe closed her eyes while her hands played with the cotton of his sweater. After he left, Piper felt Leo behind her fidgeting. He had interpreted it correctly, that this was a sisterly affair. He just didn't have anywhere to go.

"I'll see you in a minute," he said, remembering that there wasn't any confusion about where he was sleeping. Piper grinned up at him, and at his back as he went. Piper looked from one sister's face to the other.

"So," she began.

"It doesn't matter how often I blink," Paige said. "my eyes still hurt,"

"Not helping," Piper nipped. For her part, Phoebe looked indecisive.

!#&

In the bathroom, Cole splashed water on his face. Then he filled the sink with water and dunked his head in. When he came up for air he was staring into an unexpected face. The salt and pepper haired avatar, the one who had been hounding him ever since his return from the wasteland, stared patiently. Cole checked his surroundings; everything was the same except for his reflection, none of the bathroom appeared in the glass. Cole made a face that was halfway between a squint and a glare.

"What do you want," he said through gritted teeth.

"Cole," the avatar began. "Surely, you cannot think it was to be that easy, that we'd be done with you. No, we still do, and that fact should prove resoundingly that we wanted you for more than you power from the outset," Cole took a step backward shaking his head.

"No," he said. "No, I'm finished with all that, the power mongering. I have Phoebe, and she's everything I want, everything I need," he said confidently. The avatar grinned knowingly.

"Cole, your story is known far and wide, especially for those who would seek vengeance against you. You think any demon you wronged in the past won't strike at you through her," He paused a moment, letting it sink in. "And when they do, as you say, you're done, powerless to stop them,"

"We can take care of ourselves," Cole said quickly. "I don't need your power," the avatar looked sad for a moment, and then straightened visibly.

"You will, Cole," he said cryptically. "You will," and in the next moment Cole was looking into his own, terrified, doubtful face. He passed a hand over his face and stepped out of the bathroom. Phoebe was waiting for him.

"Phoebe," he said. She smiled warmly at him, then it faded slightly.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Nothing," he said, smiling. "I'm just tired," she frowned but something took her mind away from questioning him. She put her hand between then, willing him to take it. He did so, if only to feel her touch. She held on firmly and walked to the stairs. It was in Cole Turner to resist what he saw unfolding, to voice his protest, but for some reason he matched step with her, didn't say a word. He even tried not to stare at how her newly donned pajamas hugged her slim frame. It was all for naught.

After closing the door to her room, there was a hot urgency that insisted that Cole wasn't close enough to Phoebe, wasn't touching enough of her, feeling enough of her. Breathing became secondary. It could be that he consumed her levitation power, or maybe she had activated it herself, but very soon her felt the little nettles on the ceiling nibbling at his bare back. It was just a moment, though, a break in the crazy, heated, passionate moment that seemed to stretch and stretch. There wasn't a moment to say how he felt, but instead of wishing she knew, he decided to burn it into every inch of her flesh with his urgings.

!#&

Paige wished she had Piper's power to blow things up. Not only was it a cool power, but it could accurately be used to express an angry mood. A violent gesture and something exploded, she wouldn't even have to say anything. There was the hour or so during which she could've used the power to walk into her sister's room and obliterate her and Cole as they made up, or whatever it was. It sounded like they were doing construction. Well, she wasn't as serious about that; whatever part of her that was fatigued out of her mind was happy for her sister, and Cole, too. Truthfully, however, when the door bell rang at half past 4, and it seemed like she was the only one awake to answer it, that it would've really been useful to throw the door open and blow up whoever was behind it.

Paige wasn't completely sure how she got out of her room or downstairs but there she was, reaching for the door handle. A moment after the door was open for a full half minute she realized had it been some sort of horrible demon she would've been dead several times over. Fortunately, it wasn't. It was a young woman who looked almost as tired as Paige felt. She'd been crying enough for makeup to have run down to her chin from her eyes. Her hair was wild and her clothes had been put on hastily and she hadn't bothered to straighten them out.

"What?" Paige started. "I'm sorry, but who… lady, it's 4:30 in the morning," The woman's lower lip quivered and then she burst into tears, lunging at Paige, almost bowling her over.

"I need your help," she sniffled. "My coven. My entire coven," she balled. Paige closed her eyes for a long moment and then opened them again, suddenly more awake.

"Wait, you're a witch?" she asked.

"Yes," the woman wiped an eye. "I came for you, you're one of the Charmed Ones, right?" Paige nodded in response.

"Yeah, so what's with your coven?"

"They're dead, all dead," the woman almost screamed, starting to cry again.

"Ok, ok, don't worry," Paige paused. She had no come back for that. The woman's entire family had been ended, suddenly she inferred.

"Paige?" a sleepy Piper said from the stairs, Leo in tow. Paige helped the woman gingerly to the nearest upturned couch.

"Here you go, just sit here, I'll get you some water," Paige said, turning to the stairs quickly, saying quietly "I think I know what our missing, mystery demon has been up to," Piper came down stairs a bit more, suddenly worried.

"It killed someone she knew?" She intuited.

"Try everyone she knows," Paige said. "Her entire coven, she survived some way, came here looking for us," she paused to let Leo down the stairs past her. "this can't wait," Paige said more than asked. Piper shook her head gently.

"I'll go,"

"Oh no," Paige interrupted. "they kept me up all night. It's pay back time. Go console her," Paige looked over to where Leo was talking with the young woman. "Or let Leo console her, and you gather the potions," Piper blinked, and watched in a sleepy haze as her sister jogged up the stairs.

"Be gentle," Paige heard Piper whisper up the stairs after her. Right.

!#&

Tangled in bed sheets, tangled in Cole's arms and legs, on the far side of her naked bed, Phoebe was distantly aware of someone calling her name. She thought a moment about Cole's voice, and realized it wasn't him calling her, flexing her fingers to feel him all around her, she squeezed lovingly. She could feel his breath on her neck. It made Phoebe smile; however the voice persisted. Phoebe frowned, and chanced opening an eye. The fuzzy image of Paige slowly, slowly came into focus.

"Phoebe," she rasped, waving. Her response was to groan and try and roll away from her sister. That was when she realized how fiercely she was tangled up with Cole, which brought a smile to her face. "Ew," she heard Paige whisper. "Phoebe, dammit I'm serious get up, we have demons and dead witches," Phoebe put thought into figuring out which one of her arms would be easiest to untangle, then gestured with it. The concession made, Paige inched out of view, hopefully towards the hallway. Phoebe realized they weren't in her bed, but on the floor, beside it. She looked up and saw pre-dawn light illuminating strange patterns on her ceiling. She smiled wanly, kissing loving circles into Cole's face. Eventually, she felt him stir, and realized he was squeezing her and had scarcely noticed.

"Mm," He asked.

"We have to go to work," She cooed into his ear.

"Mm," he replied.

"I know," she whispered. "We'll rain check," she said, mischievously. Cole popped an eye open.

"We weren't done?" he asked incredulously. Phoebe put on her best affronted face.

"Of course not," she said, in an obvious manner. His face split into a grin.

"I love you," he said, and she felt the warmth of that. She kissed his nose.

"I love you, too," pressing meaning into the words. Cole laid back, then frowned, wondering.

"What's that on your ceiling?"


	5. Chapter 5

GTGIRL: I can't make that promise, but I suppose I can try.

Movieholic: Thanks, again. I think I finally got those breaks working.

Introductions

Cole listened intently as the sisters and Leo picked apart the young woman's story, digging for the important details that would mean the difference. He was amazed he could be so attuned at this hour, but he wasn't going to try to over analyze it. The sisters were very rudimentary in their approach; they needed to identify whatever it was so they could look it up in the book, if it was or wasn't there they would branch in whichever direction was required, but first they needed to know what it wanted, and why, how it attacked, possible weaknesses, etc.

"So you came home and everyone was," Piper trailed off; it didn't need to be said. The young woman nodded, sadly, gesturing at their floor as though it was the one of her home.

"There were bodies everywhere, burn marks, broken glass, dust,"

"They defended themselves," Phoebe said quietly, clutching onto Cole's hand. It especially hurt her to know that they had fought back, possibly with everything they had, and it still wasn't enough. It was understandable; it was a recent lullaby for him as well. The young woman nodded.

"They had time to get weapons, potions," she paused, to shudder.

"What kind of potions?" Paige asked, patting the pockets of her house coat for something. Cole frowned. She was looking for a pen and pad in her sleeping robe?

"The usual kind, banishing, disruption, blindness," Piper reached out for her hand.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to think, was there anything missing?" She thought, sniffling every now and again. It was difficult business, getting important detail from someone so recently victimized. Things of this nature used to be his doing, Cole realized, clenching his jaw. No, that wasn't him anymore. Besides, if it had been him, he wouldn't have left a witness. No, Cole thought, not a witness, she simply came home to the carnage. The destruction of the entire coven hadn't been his goal.

"I don't think so, I didn't stay long, but I checked the chests and vault," she sat sadly.

"Are you positive?" Cole heard himself say. The room went silent, and Leo gave him a look that he knew meant he should be quiet and let the sisters work. Phoebe squeezed his hand.

"What is it, baby?" she whispered. He looked from Piper to Paige.

"It's nothing, I was just trying to be helpful," He quickly kissed her hand and pressed his lips together, resolute to be quiet.

"I'm positive," the woman said after a moment. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but maybe that was enough to find what did this to my family?" she looked among them, helpful.

"We will," Leo said with finality. He was good at that, Cole thought, sounding absolutely certain of something so vaporous. But, that was sort of his thing.

!#&

Walking up the street, he saw the world with jaded eyes. Before him, running down the sides of the huge building were banners proclaiming the latest exhibit was there. A museum, the concept baffled him. They had store houses where revered history could be ogled at; they put it in boxes and made it a spectacle to crowds around the world. It was like taking a predatory beast and sticking it in a cage. Over the past day he had come up with another half dozen reasons to destroy this world, but he found the most compelling one to be that it needed destroying, remaking. It just wasn't right.

He surmounted the steps, his billowing cloak sweeping behind him, the hood pulled down over his face. According to the pieces he'd gathered, the last was here, in this wretched place. Surprisingly, the Seer had yet to pop up annoyingly and throw mysterious predictions at him and caution him against proceeding. He supposed that meant he was on the right track, but whose track it remained to be seen. Opening the door he stepped into a room where people were being funneled through silver doorways by constables. Sneering, he picked the left and stepped through, a horrible screech following him.

"Excuse me," one of the law-givers gestured with his stick. "Empty your pockets, please," he said. Grinning widely, he raised his head, watching the color drain from the man's face as he stood blinking. He brought the two pieces of the artifact he had gathered, one gold the other silver.

"Here," he made to give them to the man, forcing them forward when the mortal refused, staring forward in horror. He placed them at throat level and closed them, taking the man's throat with the action. The characteristic screaming began anew; many ran before while a timid few rose to stop him. As it always was. Soon, he thought, soon.

!#&

The young woman downstairs enjoying the sleep they all secretly desired, the operation had been moved to the attic of Halliwell Manor. Paige sat on the floor, flipping through the Book of Shadows while Leo watched Piper scry for any other living members of the coven. Phoebe was scribbling through a few different spells as Cole looked over her shoulder. She was splitting her attention more than one way; he had seemed distant earlier when they were downstairs. It was a familiar feeling, being so close to him, and knowing he wanted to say something, but in each instance there was something that prevented him from fully divulging. He had his hands around her, moving every now and then. Even with the demon attacks and massacres, Phoebe thought that maybe she was happy.

"What are you thinking," she asked directly, looking into his face. As always, there was the moment he returned her gaze and clearly he had an answer, and then wavered. "you can tell me," she said, putting her hand to his face. "please."

"I don't think it was trying to kill all the witches," he said whispering. She knew instantly why he had recoiled before. She smiled, making him look at her.

"We know who you were," she stroked his bottom lip with a finger. "were, Cole,"

"I know, I just hate reminding people," he sighed "I'm just going to have to be better at this, but, she's alive," he said. Phoebe frowned.

"Who? Oh, yeah, she is," Cole shook his head.

"If it had been after them, if ending them had been its intention, it would've had something to let it know if he were done, some way to find all the members. It was after something they had, and just didn't mind killing all of them, slowly, to get it," he glanced around at the other family members to make sure they didn't hear him. Phoebe hurt for him on the inside. It was as if vocalizing it made him the demon. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

"It's ok. You can tell me anything. Anything," she said firmly. He nodded.

"The last person it killed would've been near, or in the possession of, whatever it was, it left when the killing stopped. This kind of demon is like a storm. It'll be wherever there's mass violence," Paige's cell phone rang. She answered it, listening to the other end. Slowly, as she fit questioned in edge-wise, as her tone became more agitated, everyone perked up and paid more attention. Finally, she stood up, hanging up the phone.

"That was Darryl. I think we found our demon."

!#&

It was impossible finding anything in this place. There were enough relics and wards that he couldn't get any more specific than the final piece was on the premises. At one point, someone from the outside had thrown smoking stones into the room. He thought for a moment that it might be the legendary Charmed Ones, but it seemed a bit hokey for that, and sure enough the stones were followed by men with armor. Dispatching them had been easy enough, though boring. They seemed well trained at least by human standards, but there was no warrior among them, likely if there had been he would've been the one to send them inside. It didn't seem like he would be coming himself though, so he had gone back to searching for the final piece of the artifact.

In the reflection of a glass case containing a very elegant blade he saw another intruder. Reaching through the glass he grabbed the blade and swung it behind him in a wide arc. The blade came within inches of the man's throat before shattering into a hundred pieces. He looked at the blade; perhaps not as well made as he thought.

"Hello would've sufficed," the man said. He had beady, sunken eyes and aging facial hair. A self important air and draping robes, "my name is Alpha," he continued, walking about the room. None of the broken glass crunched beneath his footfalls. "You are impressive, creative, and powerful,"

"Have you come to do battle or talk," came the reply. Alpha passed a finger along the glass of an unbroken case.

"In addition to the police sent, they've also installed equipment to see your actions inside this place," Alpha said, inspecting the dust and then looking towards the ceiling "the law enforcement cohorts of the Charmed Ones will be in touch with them soon, it will be a short time before they arrive, and, I'm sure you know, whether in combat or speaking, introductions are customary," Alpha replaced a hand behind his back. Sneering, the demon bellowed.

"I am the demon Edrigan, and I am versed in all the customary allowances enemies make one another in honorable combat," he said challengingly. Alpha smiled, stepping forward.

"But of course you are, a demon of your lineage would have to be. Unfortunately, I am not your enemy," Edrigan scowled.

"There are too many friends in this world, all of this hardly leaves a respectable adversary," he paused, looking around. "but then, as you've said, that problem will be resolved momentarily,"

"The Charmed Ones are not to be taken lightly,"

"Of course they are. Their strength comes from their solidarity, a fragile and fleeting thing. Besides, I wasn't talking about them," reaching into his robe he pulled out the vicious athame, and it's gleaming steel. "I've been told the individual responsible for this is with them. He is the one I seek," looking over at Alpha, he saw the momentary lapse in the avatar's inscrutable guise, staring at the blade longingly. "But perhaps a more interesting topic would be what it is you seek, Alpha," Alpha took a step backwards, smiling knowingly.

"It may," suddenly he looked towards the ceiling. "But I'm afraid that will have to wait. Just know that I represent a collective that can help you in your quest. The avatars can be the answer you seek," he vanished as blue lights coalesced into three women. Edrigan grinned, sensing their magic from where he stood.

"And you must be the Charmed Ones."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Apologies for the shortness. I'm not sure how I mentally segment these things, some fanfics I read have very long chapters, others much shorter. I've been accused of being a minimalist, or maybe I'm lazy. Thanks to everyone who reads, and more for those who review. It's good for your soul, you know.

Revelations

Cole nodded once, confidently, at Leo a moment after the sisters orbed out. Familiarly, the world turned into cascading blue lights and then just as quickly the process reversed and he was somewhere else, a museum. In front of him was the demon; he had his back turned and was heavily cloaked but Cole could tell by that little information that he was powerfully built, which often meant he was also potent magically. On the plus side, their plan seemed to have worked.

Cole followed a heartbeat later as Leo hurled a potion at the demon's back, yelling to get his attention. The demon turned, as expected and Cole recognized Edrigan immediately, an ancient, legendary demon of high esteem in the courts of the shadow and darkness. He looked surprised as the first potion struck him, and then the second, which sent him through the display case he was standing next to, and the next, and the next. Numbly, Cole dug into his pockets for his next potions to throw, moving toward Edrigan along with Leo in a circular pattern.

"We might have a problem," he said, more to himself than anyone else. As they moved the sisters began chanting a spell they had written earlier. Edrigan stood up slowly, looking dignified despite being covered in wreckage. "Throw the," Cole yelled, but that was all he got out before Edrigan had gestured with a hand and sent him flying high into the air, deeper into the museum. As he was sailing he saw Edrigan use the same hand to make a crushing motion, and watched Leo's potion explode in his hand and his brother-in-law explode into shining blue particles. I hope they finish the spell, was the last thing Cole thought before impacting against a stone column.

!#&

Phoebe's voice cracked as she watched Cole flung like a rag doll out of her field of vision. She wanted to stop chanting, to go to him, but it wasn't the first time she'd been distracted by his pain; she may have been proud of her resolve if it hadn't hurt so much. Paige and Piper's grip on her hands tightened, reassuringly she thought. She watched the demon focus on them, coal black eyes and blood red skin. The horns completed the visage, small content points on his brow; this was a demon that had birthed an entire mythos of fear and derision she knew. He took a step forward as they entered the final verse, bringing a hand up and closing it slowly.

"Silence," he said simply and the spell ceased. Phoebe felt her throat, and tried to speak again, but she heard nothing, looking from sister to sister she could see they were having the same problem. The demon grinned an impossibly wide grin, striding forward, brandishing the wicked athame that Phoebe knew had caused all of this… and yet. Leo, re-materializing suddenly, jumped on his back, trying to choke him from behind. Phoebe stared in shock, and came awake again as Piper swatted her. Her big sister made chopping and kicking motions, like she was in a silent kung fu movie, then pointed at the ancient weaponry littering the floor. Paige made a face as if to protest and then opened her mouth as if to scream and then Leo crashed into her, the both of them flying backwards. Phoebe nodded curtly to her sister, turning to face the demon who was striding forward again. She ran forwards, rolling under a wide swipe and snatching up a random sword as she went and coming up to flank him with Piper. The demon, again with that ridiculous expression, made to stab with the athame, but stumbled as something impacted him in the back. Instinctively, Phoebe used his forward momentum to help him into a rolling tumble that sent him back to the floor, then looked over at Piper who was gesturing for her to move. As she sidestepped she heard an explosion and noticed a towering statue of an Egyptian deity tumble, its ankles broken, and fall onto the floored demon.

"Hey, I heard that," Phoebe said to Piper.

"So, did I," Piper said, her hands still active, staring at the floor. She glanced up quickly. "Get Cole," she said, backing up and seeing about Paige and Leo. Phoebe hurried over in the direction she had seen Cole fly. She found him trying to stumble to his feet, a gash open at his hairline.

"Cole, oh god, baby," she said, going to him, not sure if she should try and help him up or make him stay down.

"Did we get him?" he asked, oddly, then looked at the sword she was carrying. "Hey, where'd you get that from?"

"Oh no, your head," she let him put his arm over her and lifted with her legs to support his much larger frame. "we're getting you out of here, all of us out of here," she quickly helped him back to the main area, where Piper was watching Leo heal Paige. Behind her, the statue rumbled and moved suddenly, tumbling end over end towards Piper.

"Piper!" Phoebe shouted, and watched her big sister turn, hands at the ready. The statue exploded violently, sending dust particles in the air and medium and larger sized pieces in random directions. Phoebe felt Cole stiffen and after another moment stand up straight. She looked up at him and could see his head wound had closed. "Cole?" she asked. He looked down at her and grasped at the sword.

"I'm fine, now," he said. "You get your sister up and think of a new plan," he pecked her on her surprised lips. "I'll distract Edrigan while you save us," he said, digging into his pocket for another potion and then walking off into the dispersing cloud. Phoebe put a hand up and watched him disappear between her finger tips, then bit her lip and jogged over to her sisters and Leo.

"Is she ok?" she asked her brother-in-law. He nodded, dizzily.

"Yeah, but still unconscious, I," he started.

"I'll take care of her, go help Cole, we'll think of something," Leo looked confused but nodded after seeing the resolve in Phoebe's face and picked up the bulky leg of a display case and stood up next to Piper.

!#&

The Charmed Ones could do this and the Charmed Ones could do that, Edrigan mused. It was odd that at no point had it been mentioned that there was five of them and not just three. The sisters were, officially, the demon killing good witches, but it had become apparent that they also possessed a legion of competent followers as well. It hadn't been a total surprise, of course. The angel had been mentioned, though he had formerly believed it was in a more mentorship capacity, and of course Belthazor was with them; he'd scarcely leave his love's side. She was all he lived for, now that he had turned his back on everything else.

Then again, Edrigan thought, as Belthazor's human shade came striding confidently out of the mist at him. He raised an eyebrow, and held up a hand, holding the mortal fast.

"I question the logic of this move," Edrigan said, stepping forward. "Knowing I possess the power to stop your blood cold, what prevents me from gutting you where you stand?" as he finished his statement he began to feel his power deflate. He watched as the human opened his hand and a small vial flung like a bullet at him. Edrigan waved the item away but it slammed into his chest nonetheless, ice forming at the impact site and spreading over him quickly.

"That," the human replied simply, stepping forward in a two-handed swing. Edrigan concentrated on his rage, fire spreading from his gaze over his person, nullifying the potion. When the sword swung in, making contact with Edrigan's face, it softened, blackened, and broke into a hundred pieces, shrapnel flying in all directions. He recoiled backwards, clutching an eye. Dimly, he was aware of the mortal making pained noises as well. Standing to his full height he carefully removed a shard of steel from his damaged eye and flicked it to the ground. As his vision clouded the dust particles finally settled the others had arrived, standing even with the wobbly and arrogant shade of Belthazor. He had power, Edrigan calculated. He smiled, feeling the glee of a new direction.

"You," he pointed at the mortal that had hurt him "have damaged me," he gestured at his eye "and as such, it is custom that you die a tormented, and infinitely slow death, but the rest of you," Edrigan turned the athame in his hand, holding onto the blade instead of the handle and squeezed tightly, letting the blade bite and bind with his flesh. "the rest of you get to die swiftly," the room darkened slowly, the power of a hundred-hundred demons wafting into the space and joining with him. He could feel them all, waiting to be unleashed. With a gesture this time they were all sent flying into the air, swept up in hellish storm winds, red, crackling lightning seeking their hearts.

Edrigan was caught up in the storm as well, the destruction of the museum space was in the back of his mind, light fixtures falling all around him, the earth shaking, splitting the stone and shaking everything apart. It seemed like his enemies were there one moment and gone the next; maybe they had been vaporized, maybe the had teleported. A moment of disgust grabbed him and he opened his hand, letting the athame tumble away from him. He came back to the wrecked scene vaguely, and with the devastation came the pain in his eye. Edrigan pondered on the bloody implement for a moment and then stooped over to pick it up, contemplating the sharp, twisted end. What manner of weapon was this? Thinking on the seductive maelstrom made him think of the Seer and her machinations. What was she playing at?

The Charmed Ones could wait, if they still existed. For now, he had questions, and there would be answers.

!#&

Piper congratulated her little sister for not only having the presence of mind to orb them all out of there, but to orb with them the crucial piece of glass that was soaked in the demon's blood. Paige, though, was a bit inconsolable, as was Phoebe, who pointed out at every turn just how badly they were outmatched. She was torn between hastily making more potions and turning pages in the book of shadows. All of them, she realized, had assumed that all of that before had been the demon using the athame. But no, Edrigan, that was what Phoebe had said, was powerful in his own right. Piper wanted to ask Phoebe how she knew of his identity, but there was really only one way. As she moved slowly through the manor towards the observatory she passed Leo, who only had loving words for her, support and confidence in her abilities and decision making. He had convened with the elders, with the name, and they had some ideas. She needed him to wait, needed all of them to pay a little more attention.

Cole was standing alone, facing the window, the ancient sword with the blackened, broken tip still in his hand. He didn't look casual, or comfortable, he looked exactly as he had when Edrigan had pointed at him and had made his oath. He looked like he was trying to look confident and was just a shuddering breath away from collapsing into hopelessness. Piper had been there, and she had decided that if Phoebe was serious about them, then she ought to treat him like a brother.

"It's not going to happen," she said. "We'll beat this," Piper channeled her inner Leo. In response, Cole tightened his grip in the sword, audibly wrenching the leather on the well-worn handle. He held onto the horizon and wouldn't let go.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N I don't owned Charmed.

Movieholic: How come you're the only person that steadily reviews? Hrm, this is a little short, my bad.

Plots and Plans

Phoebe found it predictable that Cole skulked in like a shade at midnight, trying not to disturb her, and that she could read him so easily made her smile. She sat up calmly, and turned on the light, and smiled up at him, her make up still done, fully dressed, only a little sleep in her eyes.

"So where are we going?" she asked. She watched the conversation they would've had a year ago play out in his eyes. The surprise, the indignation, and then the all-consuming love. Finally, he grinned slightly, and she threw the remainder of the covers off of herself and stepped into her well placed shoes on the bedside.

"You're going to need something a little… trashier probably," he said. All of this had taken place, would take place Phoebe knew, because she knew Cole. He didn't let idle threats stand, and even if he couldn't really do anything about them, he had to do something. Cole was action personified, and he wasn't going to sleep until he felt better about the situation with Edrigan.

"Trashier?" Phoebe looked down at herself. She didn't attempt to look offended. "Night club?" she asked. Cole nodded, and she strode to the closet, kissing him on the lips and around to his ear as she went. "I can do trashier," she whispered. She knew that if she pressed him, pushed hard enough, she might have been able to avoid all of this, and get him in bed and some time later, asleep, but this was different. Part of her wanted some sort of resolution, too, but more than that she wanted him to be who he was. She felt his hand squeeze and grab at her, and she giggled. With silence looks each watched the other change, as if this were a normal night followed by a normal day. They were going to go out, dance, get sloppy drunk, and come back and pass out in each other's arms. But then, that was the world of magic, everything of a normal seeming until the last, least expected, moment.

Cole drove aggressively, and the car became a personification of his mood, and Phoebe didn't distract him, not because she feared their safety but because he needed to feel that way and to a certain extent so did she. Any affront to Cole's life and livelihood was an assault on hers, and she had never stopped thinking that he was hers, and she was his, that they were together, even when they weren't.

"Who are we looking for?" she asked as, finally, Cole perused several clubs before deciding on one and pulling in and handing off keys to a valet. Cole held her closed, speaking into her ear as they walked.

"Some demons play even at times of war," she heard him pause as he smelled her hair "some thrive on the emotional spectrum of humans, some on specific feelings, others on the whole spectrum. They're much more likely to ignore the effective curfews, and they're much more likely to be in a place like this," he squeezed her side and together, Cole in a dark suit and open collar, and Phoebe in one of her new trendy pants suits, defied the velvet rope and strode into the club. Over her shoulder Phoebe could see the bouncer still staring at her walk away.

"This may have been a bit too trashy," she said, blushing a little. Cole leaned down and kissed the ruby tones on her face.

"Normally I'd agree, but every now and then, why not flaunt what you've got?" he asked with a glibness that didn't touch his face. After kissing her he was all business, and he tensed in a way that let her know he was using his power.

"What are you doing?" she cut glances around them to see if anyone was watching, or being affected.

"It took practice, but from a distance I can steal magic, the detection of the magic is just a step before that, or maybe beyond, I dunno," he closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, pointing with a nod of his head. "Him," he said, directing her attention to a particularly rakish man, tall and dark, standing at a tall table with four women. He wasn't sitting, but otherwise he looked perfectly in place. Phoebe felt herself grin, looking up into Cole's face for a moment. He wasn't going to like it, which made her grin like a cat. It didn't pay to aggravate one's partner at all times, but every now and again, in rare cases, it was fun, and hot. She separated from him and moved away silkily, channeling her inner Isis. Behind her she imagined Cole had tried to say something but his voice had caught in his throat.

!#&

The Seer awaited Edrigan in her humble chamber, seated blithely. Like all demons of his age, he didn't use doors, and he always shimmered behind the person they were addressing, first not there, then suddenly appearing, whispering into the ears of frightened mortals. He had personally done much for the reputation of the dark ones, but she was ancient, too. In the end, it must be a habit.

"I tire of this dance, mystic," Edrigan's voice materialized from the air just as he did. "You give me half truths and snippets of information and I am left bumbling around in ignorance," She stood up from her chair, taking a long step forward to avoid his reaching down to snatch at her. She turned slowly with her eerie eyes.

"If there is something you wish to know, then ask," she replied nonchalantly. "it was you who made the decision to leave her without knowing the full details," Edrigan's face twisted into a scowl. He was deciding whether or not to try to obliterate her, which he ultimately would decide against, but only barely.

"Well," he said, with difficulty. "I'm back, having seen these Charmed Ones, and their white lighter, and this Belthazor, face to face, and now I judge that I would," he paused "prefer the fuller details," The Seer bowed respectfully.

"As you already know, the Charmed Ones are a powerful force of good, many witches, them included, have white lighters that provide assistance, and in this instance they also have Belthazor,"

"I noticed, yes, what is he?" Edrigan asked. The Seer smirked; he honestly wanted to know.

"Belthazor and the white lighter are similar on a foundational level, men who have given away everything to be with the women they love, it makes them enduring and determined, a dangerous thing an arrow that cannot be diverted. However what makes him dangerous is not the power he now wields, but again, the commonality which he shares with the white lighter," The Seer gasped suddenly, the breath she took in freezing immediately as Edrigan's hand was around her throat.

"I tire of your riddles!" he howled. "And I tire of your arrogance at your protections," his strength was immense, which wasn't nearly as disturbing as how he had surmounted her foreseeing his assault. "Reconsider your next words given the newly presented variables of the situation," and she did.

"They will all have sons," she said simply. Edrigan's grip remained, but it didn't tighten a hair. "Evil will rise, has risen, in power, and a comparable power will rise for good, to maintain the balance, and one of them has already been born, the son of the eldest and her white lighter love," she rasped, her voice failing her. Instantly Edrigan released her, stalking to another corner of the room. The Seer coughed and hacked, confused, but thankful that she still lived.

"The Charmed Ones will die," Edrigan said simply. "And these, whelps," he began.

"There is but one now, yes, but the Charmed Ones' legacy will not die with them, so long as the child lives," The Seer stood to her full height again, breathing deeply, dusting the front of her robes. "They are not your match. They know this, you know this, but they do not know that for good to advance in power, to take the next leap, that they must die, so long as they live,"

"We have the advantage," Edrigan interrupted, turning to look at her suddenly, scanning her face for truth.

"Belthazor was the exploitable loop hole, ever since his decision to love the witch, he has always been outside, and given liberties no one else could shoulder, as he can now, being utterly human, mortal, and innocent, yet with the power to affect virtually any magic," The Seer explained.

"And he loves the witch with premonition, they're still unborn son,"

"Would be the match for any magical creature in existence, and along with Wyatt would eclipse the strongest demons in known history,"

"Wyatt?"

"The eldest' child, her son," Edrigan seem to calm down and take in everything for the first time in days. He would never see as the Seer saw, never as well, but he had been exposed to a greater, and deeper conundrum to be solved. He removed the athame from his robe and looked down at it.

"And this implement is integral to your plans, our plans," he corrected. The Seer grinned widely.

"It holds great power, but originally it was constructed to kill a being that there existed no method of vanquishing,"

"A force previously unseen, on either side of the scales,"

"Much like Wyatt, yes," The Seer stepped forward to stare up into the face of Edrigan. Finally, the demon's face split into that iconic, impossible grin, a mouth filled with white dagger-like teeth. He nodded down at her, reaching a hand out to put it on her shoulder, comfortingly.

"So," Edrigan said "what's to be in store for these Avatars?"

!#&

Phoebe reveled in her sexuality, or at least she had, now she couldn't get to the alley behind the club fast enough. The demon was busy with his hands, and it was becoming difficult to keep everything PG – 13 and keep his interest. It did make her happy though, that another man, an attractive man, could have his hands all over her, and yet she still felt nothing. She was really in love.

And she was really thankful when Cole stepped around behind the two of them and put the handle of the broken sword into the base of the demon's skull. Phoebe made a face as the man crumpled and Cole stepped forward to roll him over.

"You alright?" he asked, looking her up and down. She nodded. Cole looked like he was about to say something, then stopped, then he opened his mouth "You looked like you were enjoying that thing, taking him away from those women and pulling him by his tie,"

"Cole, stop," Phoebe put a hand up and knelt to get the demon's wallet, which she mostly needed to hide her grin from Cole. She could feel him fume briefly then slowly find his way back to the task at hand. "Why don't you take his,"

"It's done already, stand back," and after she had done so he brought the sword down through the demon's chest. He awoke briefly, only to die in a screaming fireball.

"You know the museum is probably going to want that back. Where were you hiding that, anyway?" She quirked an eyebrow. Cole stood, roughly grabbing Phoebe by the waist and pulling her to him. Secretly, she loved his possessiveness.

"Trade secret," he replied, kissing her deeply. "Now, let's go figure out what evil has in store for our brave heroes," Phoebe smiled at him, biting at his nose.

"Yes, let's," and they kissed again, and shimmering from the alley to elsewhere in the next moment.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Apologies for taking so long to write and post this. Work has begun in full force, and it's amazing how little time I have now (by comparison, that is, I can't lie and say a lot of it was also laziness). In any event, I hope you enjoy.

Execution

What woke Piper up wasn't a premonition, not magically speaking anyway. It had been a nightmare, intermingled with woman's intuition and a mother's foresight that saw her sitting up suddenly in the early, early morning. She put her hands over her heart as if the gesture would slow it, or keep it from bursting from her chest. She tossed her head from side to side, looking to make sure Leo was still there beside her, and then her son, Wyatt, as if she could see through walls. Something in the back of her mind told her to go to sleep; there had always been evil and there always would be. She had dealt with this before, long before Wyatt was born, the stress, the fear. Still, she had thrown the covers off and was out of the room before that part of her could even finish its statement.

Wyatt lay sleeping soundly in his baby bed, his tiny heart and lungs pumping away. No demons, no elders, nothing. Piper breathed heavily, putting her hands at her side, frowning at why she had been so spooked. Squinting in the darkness she tried grasping for specific details of the dream but nothing came, just wisps of feelings. The young mother looked down at her son again then departed, but not for her room.

She knocked once, waited, and then again on Phoebe's door before tip toeing in to see the empty bed. Piper crossed her arms over her chest, in anticipation for the usual consternation that came with being the oldest, responsible system. Nothing came, however; she wasn't mad. She was worried.

!#&

Phoebe pulled hard on the back of Cole's head, forcing their lips to crush together. Satisfied with that, she passed her hands over his back, gripping so tightly at times that she thought she might be hurting him, and his hands were just as active all over her and just as needy. There wasn't any pain though, not anymore.

Distantly, she was aware of footsteps trailing away from the two of them. Still, they kept it going, as if lost, for another moment, before breaking apart, the both of them panting.

"That was close," Cole breathed deeply, his eyes wider than normal, maintaining their contact with Phoebe's lips. She nodded, staring up at him.

"We probably need a disguise or something," given her distracted stance on the situation, she thought suddenly that that was a good idea, all things considered.

"Yeah," Cole said, and she watched him visibly reign himself in, and become the methodical tactician he was normally. "I didn't think it would be this crowded down here so soon," he said with frustration in his voice.

"Or, we could just do that anytime someone walks by," Phoebe perked up. Cole didn't take the bait, but relaxed visibly, smiling in thanks for her help. He looked around for a moment, and then took her by the hand and lead her off into, unsurprisingly, another dark hallway.

Phoebe had been in the underworld before, parts of it anyway, and in retrospect she guessed she had always been in the same section of it, that it couldn't all be dark, rocky causeways and dusty floors. Surely there were places in it that had comfortable furniture and bubbling brooks. Maybe even a lava waterfall. Using the shadows, she watched Cole direct them more deeply into ever-crowded territory. She suspected that this Edrigan had begun insulating himself with legions of upper level demons, source-style, though what Cole had been saying didn't seem to imply that, hence his surprise, she thought. From Cole's perspective, Edrigan was the classical demon, the type many myths about them had been constructed and assumed, half warrior, half trickster, he engaged in deals and covenants to obtain his power and with expert use of double crosses and back stabs had solidified his place in the upper echelon of underworld kind. It took him a bit, but Cole eventually admitted that he was a major influence on him wanting to use law to infiltrate the mortal world. It hurt her that it still hurt him to remember and regret.

They paused in what amounted to a narrow alley that lead off of one of main walk ways that pointed, presumably even deeper into the maze of tunnels that, Phoebe assumed, ended in the room with the broken pillars, where she had seen Cole die the last time. She squeezed his hand involuntarily at the memory and he returned the gesture almost immediately. When she looked up at him she could see his ice blue eyes looking back at her in the darkness. Phoebe hoped it showed on her face how happy she was with him, no matter the circumstances.

"This had better be important," a voice said from the hallway beyond.

"I wouldn't be so lippy when we're in his audience, Edrigan is powerful,"

"His power isn't what is in contention here. Of course he is, as have been all his predecessors," Cole pressed himself flat against the far wall of their narrow hiding place and directed Phoebe to do the same. She watched as two demons, toothy and scaled, stalked by taking up much of the space in the hallway beyond. "All those before him failed,"

"Ever the pessimist, brother?"

"Realist. This is formulaic; he summons all of us to hear of his great plan, like the others, but until it succeeds, he's the same as the others, waiting to be vanquished," Phoebe became slowly aware of Cole's hand, half groping, half protecting her. At least if he was copping a feel, it meant he wasn't worried. Didn't it? He broke into a quick whisper as if nothing was odd.

"He doesn't have their confidences," he paused to quickly dart his head into the hallway again. "I guess you and your sisters are to thank for that. We may have to sit tight, I don't think I can get us to the middle of all of this safely," he looked her up and down, deciphering, Phoebe thought. "We're probably too close as it is,"

"You want to just snipe one of them as they're leaving?" she asked. Cole began leading them back the way they came. He shook his head.

"Too dangerous, many may not come back this way, or whatever it is might require they stay, or go directly to a different location,"

"So what was all this for?" she asked, yanking on his arm.

"It was a gamble, Phoebe, we risked our getting discovered for the possibility of more information than we had. This time, we broke even," At the end of the tunnel they were standing in Cole inched his way to the mouth and poked his head out. Just as rapidly, he was snatched by his head and tossed out into the open. Phoebe gasped at the sight, but instinctively backtracked into the shadows just as a large demon, near the size of the two from before, glanced into the tunnel before addressing Cole's prone form. Composed, she knew Cole could take care of himself, but just in case poised herself for a flying kick.

"Belthazor," the large demon said, a smile in his voice as he walked over and roughly grabbed Cole by his shirt and threw him against a wall. "Long time no see," Cole batted his eyes open, focusing.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked. The demon seemed taken aback by that, then slugged Cole in the mid section, doubling him over.

"Funny guy," The demon pushed him to the ground and put a boot at Cole's throat. "I find myself at an impasse. Word has spread, and I'm sure the new boss would love to see you, I'd be rewarded likely, riches, treasure, but somehow," he put more weight on the offending leg. Phoebe dug her back foot into the loose earth. "I think maybe killing you myself, for everything you did, would be so much more pleasurable," Cole put his hands on the large boot, trying to gain purchase to breathe.

"Well," he choked. "I'm sure you'll make the right decision, but maybe if you told me who you were we could clear this whole mess up," his eyes flared angrily. "You know all you lower level demons look alike," The demon paused again, disbelievingly, and jumped as if to stomp Cole into the ground, which sprung Phoebe into motion. She collided with the unsuspecting demon in mid air, causing him to cartwheel backwards, his head landing awkwardly into the back wall. He lay in a heap, still breathing, but otherwise still. Phoebe landed, lightly, careful that she didn't hit Cole herself, looking down with her feet straddling him.

"What the hell were you doing," she said frantically.

"Just enjoying the view," Cole said, smiling but obviously in pain.

"You're not jacked up on demon blood anymore, you can't just go around antagonizing,"

"Phoebe,"

"all the demons that wanted to twist your head off and use your neck for,"

"Phoebe," Cole said more loudly, and she looked down at him. He slinked gingerly to his feet and crept over to the fallen demon. "I think we found our informant," Phoebe blushed, remembering the past few moments.

"Wait," she pointed, thinking "he isn't at the meeting, or whatever it is, how is he supposed to tell us anything?" Cole seemed to be checking what amounted to his vital signs.

"Like I said, it's a gamble. He may know nothing, but he's been down here these past few weeks, and we haven't. Maybe he knows plenty, and we just have to convince hi to give what he knows to us," he acted as if to lift the much larger body. "Man, I miss being strong," he gripped at his back. "Help me with this?" Phoebe looked down at Cole's hunched over form, dirty and probably bruised and bleeding, but perfectly committed to the task, aware that he was flying by the seat of his pants, and was still cool about it.

"I love you,"

!#&

Paige stared at her reflection, making absolutely sure that the page of the Book of Shadows she had fallen asleep on hadn't left any magical residue, or even worse ink, in her porcelain complexion. Piper had woken her an hour before; she had been looking around for someone to talk to and Phoebe it seemed had left with Cole. Piper suspected magical, and given that the new old couple obviously had no sexual shame, Paige had to agree.

Not ten minutes ago, however, bonnie and clyde had shown up, an unconscious and hopefully soon to be demonic informant in tow, all smiles. Well, mostly, Cole had a few broken ribs and a bruised jaw, but he still managed it with that annoying confidence he typically exuded. Paige leaned forward and then jerked her neck backwards, throwing her hair back and smoothing it down. She adjusted her shirt and pressed her pants flat, stepping back to view herself. She had going for no-nonsense interrogator witch supreme. Piper flashed in the doorway of the bathroom, just long enough for Paige to turn to her.

"How do-"

"Librarian, move it toots," came the reply. Paige tried to milk the sour expression she knew she was wearing and turn it into a menacing scowl as the three of them, after extricating Phoebe from Cole, marched up into the attic. Leo had been watching the demon in his crystal cage. He met them halfway, leaning down to kiss Piper, and whisper, just loudly enough, for her not to get any more demon guts in the carpet, they just had it cleaned. Paige grinned; the scene was set.

As it turned out, none of the ambiance, or clothing, was really effective. This demon, Falix was his name, was prone to torturing mortals in front of their families for fun, so scolding him ended up fairly ineffective. In the end, the three of them fell back on their old tricks. Unexpectedly, pieces of him ended up frozen and or exploded, and in between the screaming and beginning they got some information they hadn't had before. Rather oppositely, Paige grew less and less confident as the details were doled out. Edrigan was being lead by the Seer, and there were worse things in store than just him; as the architect of the plan decades in the hatching, the Seer had bent her premonitions to the end of holding foresight in the way anything that could ultimately destroy her plan. Falix didn't know, but Cole was integral, which is why she had helped save him. He did know that she had plans for them, too, but nothing of their details, only that the Seer was the villain in all of this, and ultimately Edrigan was the figure head.

That changed things. Falix' vanquishing as a distant echo in Paige's mind as she mentally rehearsed everything she had done and planned in regards to Edrigan, and how the Seer being in the way complicated everything.

An hour later, she was back in the bathroom looking at herself, pondering yet again not seeing her next birthday because some demon somewhere decided to turn the world don its head, and she, the part of a rare, brave few, had to get in the way. And to top it off, she did look like a librarian.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks for everyone whose reading. I think we're almost done, here. Sweet sorrow and all that.

An End, Part I

The Seer could remember a time when understanding the universe with respect to four dimensions and not just three had been taxing, and a short time before that when it had been inconceivable. Seeing for some was a curse, and others a gift; it depended completely on whether or not an individual could see and come away unchanged, or at least sane enough to be of use to others. Her mother had been a raving lunatic, as had her mother before her. Still, her great grandmother had been powerful and wise; it was she who had foretold a great many things. She could see her as clearly as she could the slim shouldered Edrigan. He had height, width, depth, and the fourth dimension, that of time. She could follow his life backwards and forwards; it took concentration but all one had to do was focus.

"Your far away looks worry me, even with the information you," She watched him stop and choose his words carefully, "blessed me with. What are you plotting?" Edrigan, like every powerful demon before him wanted to take her and those like her and use them for their gifts, but none of them could understand the complexity of the issues when all the variables were added, applied and calculated. Much of it was blind luck, but that among other things was a grand secret. She grinned, seeing him on his throne, and everything that had ever stood on the spot, each an image on top of the other.

"It is almost time," she said simply. The hangers on that had taken to populating the perimeter of the circular room beyond the pillars whispered their raspy whispered. Some left, some came. Near them, she could see Cole on his knees, waiting for death, his would be assassin standing over him, poised to strike. Would it be that way again? The future was like the rain drop impacts on a pond, one could hop and skip from one to the other but it was always a mystery how they would connect, or if they would. Edrigan stirred on his throne, uncomfortably, she thought.

"And this mysterious x-factor, you mentioned?" he asked. The Seer had never shrugged in her entire life. She wanted to often; it looks like such an amazing and powerless gesture, but it wasn't hers to have. She simply smiled broadly at him, and watched him stare down at her with malice, the image of him squirming overlaid on top of it.

!#&

Phoebe opened her eyes, slowly coming to realize that she had been asleep. She moved her head slowly, rubbing her cheek across Cole's powerful chest, smiling at it's rise and fall. A strong arm pulled her close suddenly and she looked up into his face to see that he was looking down at her. She slid a hand under his shirt at his waist and lightly scratched up his chest.

"You let me fall asleep," she chided sleepily. His reply was an oddly quirked eyebrow. She pulled herself up on top of him, kissing him lightly. "Shut up,"

"I was asleep too a little while ago," he replied finally. "I'm just," he began and then stopped. She frowned, using her other hand to stroke his face, moving her hand beneath his shirt to hug him around the rib cage.

"Just what?" she prompted, snaking a leg around his. She watched him try and think, and become more and more distracted.

"I'm just not worried," he finally said. Phoebe stopped suddenly, taking in his statement. It seemed like such an odd thing to say, given what they had learned earlier that day along with what blanks Leo could fill in from talking with the Elders. "I have you, and you're all I have. My life is outside in my car," he paused, hugging her to him tightly. "My life is in this room, and that's it, and I'm completely happy. It's weird, I know I should be worried,"

"Damn right," she clung to him, interrupting.

"It feels like I can't lose you," he said quietly. "I can't even imagine it, now," even quieter. Phoebe wanted to agree, and she could almost imagine his perspective, but she could only think about losing what they had, and being worried. Eventually, though, she could only think about his warmth and his confidence, and his heart beat, and despite being worried, terrified, she drifted asleep again.

!#&

The next day came, and all of them awoke in the Halliwell manor with a quiet understanding of what they had to do. For Piper and Leo, they knew any plan they concocted wouldn't put their son's life at risk, but that any plan they put into action would be to save their son's life. Passive inactivity is what their enemies would need, it's what they would want; fighting for good was the tough decision, but it was also the right decision if they ever had any hope for their future. This situation wasn't new to Paige; as a social worker she knew you had to keep fighting, no matter what. It would be worse to keep on living with the knowledge that there was more that could be done.

Cole and Phoebe were the last to gather at the dining room table, attached at the hip, with committed looks on their faces. Cole hadn't slept, but he wasn't tired; he hoped he hadn't said too much the previous night to Phoebe. He hoped she understood. The couple looked around the family table at the others, none of them seated, and they all seemed to just now. With each moment all the players tumbled towards what felt like a vortex of fate, that the choices made now would through everything after them into either order or chaos.

Paige produced their armory of potions, bundled to produce the greatest and most diverse effects.

"Maybe we should write this tactic down so witches in the future can use it," Piper said. The humor touched and did not touch all present. Cole watched Leo rub his wife's shoulder, smiling knowingly.

"We'll see you home for dinner," Leo whispered, kissing Piper on the forehead. Piper nodded solemnly. Cole frowned at Leo, and his question was answered when Leo separated from the group and headed towards the stairs. Wyatt. Cole smiled on the inside, finally understanding that he and Leo were more similar than they were different. He reached forward and snatched up two potion bundles, offering one to Phoebe. She looked up at him, her eyes searching. She kissed him deeply, her hands pulling at him. Cole wasn't sure what that meant until she took one of the bundles from his hands and nodded confidently to her sisters.

"Let's do this,"

!#&

Alpha waited, perched on the other side of his concealed portal. He could hear, feel, what was happening beyond. It was somewhat difficult to tune out the sycophants in the beginning, but once the sisters arrived the sound of the scene beyond changed completely. He had to choose his moment perfectly, because once her pawn fell, it was guaranteed that the Seer would snatch up the implement and flee again. It wouldn't be as vulnerable again in the foreseeable future.

A huge force concussed beyond, echoing even on his side; almost as if shoved by destiny he leapt forward into the breach. On the other side, he choked immediately on the dust hanging in the air, floating about, obscuring his vision. He waved his hand as if he could dismiss the mist without being detected along with the growing sense of déjà vu. He had been here before…

The Seer had assured him that it would be quick, but Edrigan understood that he had not quite understood the severity of the suddenness. In the beginning, with his throne over turned on top of him, he couldn't move. The pain was minor, and it would of course heal, but something ancient, and visceral crept up inside of him while he had been pinned there, surrounded by the sounds of his perishing minions. He had been closer to figuring out what it was when the second impact, each being greater than the one before it, shattered his former seat of power, sweeping him and the debris up in a temporary whirlwind. It was as if the witches had brought with them every other witch they shared blood with, alive or dead.

Then their demon turned knight, Belthazor, had run from the obscuring mist and struck at him with the cold iron he had acquired no doubt from some forgotten crypt somewhere. He lunged and slashed, but Edrigan had recovered quickly, and just as swiftly his tactics had changed from scoring blows at his flesh to slashing at the athame at his waist. He drew it reflexively, and realized that he had become dependent on the Seer's favor, that he, the proud and powerful demon, had become defined by the implement of questionable origin rather than his centuries of terror and conquest. Looking into the eyes of the mortal Belathazor, he began to realize that the man had a plan coming her, that it was not desperation that drove him. He summoned lightning and fire and imagined it like a lash to flay the man's soul, but when he struck Belthazor caught the weapon around his hand and met Edrigan's stare with one of his own.

Edrigan knew then, what he had felt, that the old feeling creeping up his spine was fear.

#&

Phoebe pushed gently against the smooth marble ceiling of the now re-ruined chamber, oddly thinking that it looked almost exactly like it had before when… she clenched her jaw and concentrated on the present. Below her she watched Piper flailing her arms, backwards, forwards, left and right, with each gesture vanquishing a demon, some of them stumbling through the fog, others running toward or away from her. Every now and then one would spring too near to her and Paige would orb a potion, each either an explosion of a fireball or lightning bolt.

Satisfied that her sisters were fine, she scanned the rest of the room. The debris in the air was settling again, for the third time, and she could make out figures. A familiar looking salt and pepper bearded man was moving stealthily across the room, looking about every few steps. In the direction she had seen Cole run off she could see what seemed to be figures wrestling in a firestorm. Phoebe squinted at her memory; just then he looked up at her, and she could see his tiny, piercing blue eyes and she remembered.

"Paige," she yelled, and pointed. Her sister looked up at her, and decided on another of the bundles based on the urgency and gave the pouch of potions a heavy toss in the direction her sister pointed. Phoebe thought the man tried to cast a spell, but shortly thereafter she couldn't see him as the bundle impacted very near to where he was standing. Phoebe pushed forcefully towards the floor and landed behind Piper.

"Is that all of them?" her big sister was trying to scan everywhere at once, the floor around them covered in the dust from vanquished demons.

"I think so, let's go," Phoebe said, leading them carefully in the direction she had seen Cole, hoping desperately that whatever the man had been up to had failed with his demise.

"We meet again," a voice rang out. "Phoebe Halliwell," The Charmed Ones, instantly stopped at familiar voice that always seemed to hold a smile, and put their backs to each others'. "I have something I want you to see,"

!#&

It was a smart bit of luck, being able to absorb power already manifested, Cole thought. Else he would've already been disintegrated several times over, by now. Unfortunately, despite his focus and element of surprise, Edrigan proved to be an extremely competent melee combatant. Nothing he had read implied that; it was as if he had moved on to tempting mortals to evil because he had gotten bored cutting them open.

He stepped forward, trying to disarm the athame again, slicing at the wrist and thumb, but Edrigan seemed too aware of his plan and stepped backwards, forcing Cole forward with obvious intent to make him pay for it. Cole, now almost about to fall forward on his face, decided to turn his stumble into a roll and in doing so narrowly avoided an elbow that likely would've destroyed his chest. In mid roll Cole shimmered, behind Edrigan, the hope that derived from the spark of brilliance exploding as he saw the demon's back open and unaware. Time slowed to a crawl as Cole committed completely to the gesture of stabbing Edrigan in the back, and the sword, somehow instantly heavy and sluggish, could not strike fast enough. Just before the blow landed, he realized his error, the backwards grip of Edrigan's hand, waiting for his wait to fall on it. The athame plunged into his flesh just as the sword stabbed into Edrigan's meaty back. The pain was like an old friend that he hadn't seen in ages. He had been here before…

Somewhere off in the distance, Cole could hear Phoebe's scream. It froze his blood even as his heart slowed.


End file.
